The daily herald. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1886-1887, 1887-05-25
WEDNESDAY,, MAY as, 1887
IMPROVEMENT.

DCtltl IL ~ w btai tuC iho We haNS
than fly to others that we know not Of"
is an old saying, bearing the imprima-
tur of the great poet. 1t is POLITICALLY
trulsm, but practically its correctness
depends upon the use that is made OF
it. 1t is the one article Of the creed Of
a barbarian, but it is not the language
of enlightened enterprise that sees diff
culties only to overcome them and
endures ills only so long as the whirli-
gig Of time imposes inevitable restric-
tons on their removal. 1t is we'll to
be cognizant Of whatever ills surround
US, but to be forever cataloguing them,
dwelling upon them and discussing
them without doing anything for their
removal is the kind Of thing that usually
possesses the attention Of the chronic
growler, otherwise styled croaker; but
when ills are discussed solely in con-
necton with ways and means for their
removal is when the reformes comes
in. The peculiar merit Of reform lies
not in magnifying disadvantages but in
getting rid Of them,
As regards public affairs in Hawaii,
the period Of growing has extended
quite far enough and it must be patent
to everyone that events have arrived at
that stage that further discussion with
out remedial proposals. Of a definite
character can be little else than idle
croaking. Everyone wants somebody
else to do something and the air is get
ting thick with objurgations because
that somebody" persists in doing
nothing. Has it come to this that the
public mind has dropped helplessly
into the rut Of chronic growing and
become hopelessly hypochondriuc with
gard to the public affairs of the
country If our politics are in a mud
die and abuses are rife as everyone
alleges, where is the movement for
retrieving our fortunes and placing our
selves in better position both for our
own delectation and for the good name
that we profess desire to maintain
abroad We have heard it said by
many persons Of influence that their
highest personal ambition is now to
"sell all that they have" and not "give
to the poor" but get up and leave the
country. Perhaps it would be well for
all concerned if such patriotism should
succeed in migratingto other shores,
for then their places might be occu-
pied by better men. And 1t is prob
ably due to the large proportion of
citizens Of that class in this Kingdom
that progress in the attainment of a
respectable position as nation is so
exceedingly backward II those who
know the methods by which political
stables have been cleansed were dis
posed to throw the weight of their
influence in with others whose privi-
leges have been more limited and
whose experiences have been con-
fined to the small area of the Hawaiian
domain, for the purpose of reforming
the nation, great results might be ex-
pected.
In other countries favored with we'll
developed systems of constitutional
government, there are, ii is not denied,
many abuses. Fraud and mismanage-
ment abound, but the rascalities of
public officials are borne with simply
from the consciousness on the part of
the people that the remedy is IN their
own hands, that they alone hold the
check reins Of power, and that estab-
lished laws and usages give them, peri
odically, full opportunity Of drawing
the reins and hurting from their high
places the abusers Of their trust,
1t is not so in Hawaii, The people
do not control the acts of their rulers
either directly or indirectly. The ma.
chinery of government is SO fixed and
arranged that public officials'ca afford
to snap their fingers at the people for